Dust mop with throw away mopping element

ABSTRACT

A dust mop provided with a throwaway mop head. The dust mop includes an elongated carrier member to which is swivelly mounted a mop handle. The carrier member includes an upper rigid portion and a lower cushion portion. A disposable mop head is mounted against the lower cushion portion and it includes a mop element made from an absorbent material and which is attached to a nonwoven fiber cloth backing material that is folded upwardly and over the carrier member upper rigid portion and secured thereto by releasable retainer means.

United States Patent 1191 Griffin et a1.

1111 I 3,760,450 1 Sept. 25, 1973 [5 1 DUST MOP WITH THROW AWAY MOPPINGELEMENT [76] lnventors: Dana K; Griffin, 24714 Madison Ct., Apt. 296,Farmington, Mich. 48024; John R. Wilson, 3203 E. Bradford Dr.,Birmingham, Mich. 48010 [22] Filed: Jan. 10, 1972 [21] Appl. No.:216,356

[52] US. Cl. 15/229 B, 15/104.94,'15/l44 A,

15/231 [51] Int. Cl. A471 13/255, A471 13/46 [58] Field of Search 15/144A, 228, 229 AP,

15/229 B, 229 BC, 229 BP, 231, 232; 211/16,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,099,855 8/1963 Nash 15/2313,430,284 3/1969 Fuerst.... 15/231 3,406,421 10/1968 Fuerst.... 15/2313,651,534 3/1972 Leland 15/231 3,593,359 7/1971 Strauss 15/229 BP2,339,187 Pain 248/314 2,561,611 7/1951 Buchanan 248/314 3,006,66810/1961 Stewart 1. 15/144 A X 3,012,264 12/1961 Nash 15/231 2,613,00010/1952 Moore 211/89 1,428,263 9/1922 Shickluna 15/229 BC FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 171,295 11/1934 Switzerland 211/16 PrimaryExaminerDaniel Blum v Attorney-Donnelly, Mentag & Harrington [5 7]ABSTRACT A dust mop provided with a throwaway mop head. The dust mopincludes an elongated carrier member to which is swivelly mounted a mophandle. The carrier member includes an upper rigid portion and a lowercushion portion. A disposable mop head is mounted against the lowercushion portion and it includes a mop element made from an absorbentmaterial and which is attached to a non-woven fiber cloth backingmaterial that is folded upwardly and over the carrier member upper rigidportion and secured thereto by releasable retainer means.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures DUST MOP WITH THROW AWAY MOPPING ELEMENTSUMMARY OF THE INVENTION tached to a suitable frame by means of tiestraps, snaps, 1

or some type of pocket for attaching the mop head to a frame. Theattaching of the prior art mop heads to the frame in the aforementionedmanner is time consuming. Another disadvantage of such prior art mops isthat they must be cleaned, treated and sterilized'repe'atedly when thedust mop isto be used for hospital use. A further disadvantage is thatthe mop carrier members are usually made from some hard material, whichmars furniture when it hits the same, despite the fact that such framesmaybe covered bythe mop head. In view ofthe foregoing it is an importantobject of the present in: vention to provide an improved mop structurewhich overcomes the aformentioned disadvantages of the prior artdustmops.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved lowcost dust mop which is prelaundered pretreated to pick up dirt,pretreated hygienically for use in hospitalsand'the' like, and which maybe trown away when it becomes dirty.

It is' a.further object of the present inventionto provide an improveddust mop structure which is compact and simple in construction, light inweight, economical to manufacture and efficient in use.-

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a noveland improveddust mop which includes an elongated carrier member providedwith a pair of holes on each end thereof on the upper side thereof, amop handle, means for swivelly attaching the carrier member to said mophandle, a mop head including a mop element made from strands of anabsorbent material and affixed to a backing material having a pair ofattachment flaps extended upward and overthe upper side of said carriermember. and retainer means carried in said holes on said carrier memberfor operative engagement with said attachment flaps for releasablysecuring the mop head to the carrier member. The mop head backingmaterial is preferably a non-woven fiber cloth'material.

While it will be apparent that the preferredembodiment of the inventionherein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated,it will be appreciated that the invention issusceptible to modification,variation and change.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevational perspectiveview of a dust mop made in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, elevationalsection view of .the mop structureillustrated in FIG. 1, taken along the line 22 thereof, and looking inthe direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is an elevational, section view of the structure shown in FIG. 1,taken along the line 33 thereof, and looking in ,thedirection of thearrows.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, exploded perspective view showing a pair of mophead attachment cups and a portion of the mop carrier member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTv Referring now to the drawings,and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, the numeral 9 generally indicates amop head carrier member on which is operatively mounted 0 a mop headgenerally indicated by the numeral 12. The

carrier member 9 includes an upper elongated rigid portion 8 which maybe made from any suitable material as, for example,'from an elongated,rectangularly shaped layer of wood. The carrier member 9 also includesan elongated rectangularly shaped lower cushion portion 11 which isattached to the'lower surface of the rigid portion 8 by any suitableadhesive. The cushion portion 11 maybe made from any suitable elasticmaterial as, for example, a suitable rubber or a suitable foam plasticmaterial. As illustrated in FIGS. 3, and 4, a suitable cushion or bumper10 is mounted around the periphery of the carrier member rigid portion8. The bumper 10 may be made from any suitable elastic material as, forexample, a suitable rubber or foam plastic material which is adhered tothe outer periphery of the rigid portion 8 by any suitable means, as bya suitable adhesive.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the dust mop is provided with a mop handle 14which has its lower end threadably attached to a handle attachment meansgenerally indicated by the numeral 13. As shown in FIG. 2, the handleattachment means 13 includes a tube or sleeve 15 which has a threadedbore in its upper end that threadably receives the lower end of thehandle 14. A pair of spaced apart legs 16 are integrally mounted on thelower end of the sleeve 15 and they are disposed on the opposite sidesofan attachment tongue 18 and they are pivotally connected to the tongue18 by a suitable rivet 17. The attachement tongue 18 is integrallyformed on the upper end of an attachment plate 19 which is formedintegral with an attachment tube 20.

The attachment plate 19 is swivelly attached to the.

carrier member 9 by the following described structure. An elongatedhorizontal pivot rod 21 is carried by the tube 20 and it extends throughsuitable apertures in a pair of upstanding ears 23 of a suitableU-shaped attachment clip means which has an elongated longitudinallydisposed body portion 24. The apertured ears 23 are integrally formed atthe ends of the body portion 24. The U-shaped attachment clip means isdisposed in an elongated longitudinal concave recess 26 which is formedin the upper surface of the rigid carrier portion 8 and is secured inplace by a pair of suitable screws 25.

The pivot rod 21 is provided with a suitable head 22 on one end thereofand with a lock nut 27 on the other end thereof. A plastic washer 28 ismounted around the pivot rod 21 at each end of the attachment plate 19.It will be seen that by adjusting the lock nut 27, a controlled degreeof swivel tension can be provided. The swivel tension can thus beadjustedto the individual users preference.

The mop head 12 includes a mop element 29 which is made from a suitablematerial as, for example, a cot- The mop element 29 is secured to a mopelement backing material 30 by any suitable adhesive in the usualmanner. The backing material 30 may be of any suitable material, as forexample, a non-woven cloth material. One suitable non-woven fiber clothmaterial is an unwoven polypropylene fiber cloth material.

The mop element backing material 30 includes an extension 31 alongeither side thereof, and said extensions 31 function as attachmentflaps. The attachment flaps 31 are brought upwardly around the sides ofthe carrier member 9 and they are then folded over the top thereof andare secured to the carrier member 9 by the following described means.

As shown in FIG. 4, each end of the carrier member rigid portion 8 isprovided with a pair of vertical holes or seats 32 in each of which ispress fitted a retainer cup 33. Each retainer cup 33 includes acylindrical body 34 and an integral top wall 35 in which is formeda pairof cross slits 36. The cups 33 are made from a flexible plastic or anyother suitable flexible material so that the portions of the cup wallbetween the slits 36 are flexible, whereby the attachment flaps 31 maybe quickly and easily secured to the carrier member 9 by pressing theattachment flap portion overlaying each cup downwardly into the slits 36to form an inwardly extended loop 37 as shown in FIG. 3. The portions ofthe cup wall 35 between the slits 36 then spring upward and hold theattachment flaps 31 in place.

It will be seen that the dust mop of the present invention provides astructure wherein the mop head 12 may be easily attached in place on thecarrier 9, and be removed therefrom in a quicker and more efficientmanner than the prior art type mop structures which include tie strapsor snaps or other means of attaching the mop head to a carrier frame ofsome sort. The disposable mop element of the present invention isadapted to be used in the same manner as the prior art mops. However, itwill be seen that the disposable mop element 12 of the present inventionis a labor saving device and is economical, since for hosptial use itdoes not need recleaning, treating, and sterilizing for further use. Themop element of the present invention is economical to make andaccordingly, it may be used only once and then disposed of. The mopelement 12 of the present invention may be sold in a sealed bag toprevent contamination ofthe treated mop during shipment and storagebefore it is used.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the inventionherein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated,it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible tomodification, variation and change.

What is claimed is:

1. In a dust mop, the combination comprising:

a. an elongated carrier member provided with a pair of holes on each endthereof, on the upper side thereof;

b. a mop handle;

c. means for attaching the carrier member in a swivel manner to said mophandle;

d. a mop head including a mop element made from strands of an absorbentmaterial and fixed to a backing material having a pair of attachmentflaps extended upward and over the upper side of said carrier member;

e. retainer means carried in said holes on said carrier member foroperative engagement with said attachment flaps for releasably securingthe mop head to the carrier member;

f. said mop head backing material comprising nonwoven polyprophylenefiber cloth material;

g. said retainer means including a plurality of inverted retainer cupsmounted in said holes and provided with slits on the outer ends thereofthrough which are extended portions of said attachment flaps forreleasably securing the mop head to the carrier member.

h. said swivel attachment means including an elongated clip meansattached to the carrier member and including a pair of spaced aperturedears extended upward from the carrier member;

i. an attachment plate connected to said handle;

j. a pivot tube formed on the lower end of said attachment plate andbeing disposed between said spaced apart apertured ears, a pivot rodextended through said ears and through said pivot tube;

k. a plastic washer disposed on said pivot rod between each ear and eachend of said attachment plate; and

l. a lock nut means on said pivot rod for securing the pivot rod in aselected adjusted position between said attachment plate and said pairof ears.

2. The dust mop structure as defined in claim 1, wherein: (a) saidcarrier member includes an upper rigid portion in which said holes areformed, a lower cushion portion which is secured to the lower surface ofsaid rigid portion, and a peripheral cushion formed around the peripheryof said rigid portion.

1. In a dust mop, the combination comprising: a. an elongated carriermember provided with a pair of holes on each end thereof, on the upperside thereof; b. a mop handle; c. means for attaching the carrier memberin a swivel manner to said mop handle; d. a mop head including a mopelement made from strands of an absorbent material and fixed to abacking material having a pair of attachment flaps extended upward andover the upper side of said carrier member; e. retainer means carried insaid holes on said carrier member for operative engagement with saidattachment flaps for releasably securing the mop head to the carriermember; f. said mop head backing material comprising non-wovenpolyprophylene fiber cloth material; g. said retainer means including aplurality of inverted retainer cups mounted in said holes and providedwith slits on the outer ends thereof through which are extended portionsof said attachment flaps for releasably securing the mop head to thecarrier member. h. said swivel attachment means including an elongatedclip means attached to the carrier member and including a pair of spacedapertured ears extended upward from the carrier member; i. an attachmentplate connected to said handle; j. a pivot tube formed on the lower endof said attachment plate and being disposed between said spaced apartapertured ears, a pivot rod extended through said ears and through saidpivot tube; k. a plastic washer disposed on said pivot rod between eachear and each end of said attachment plate; and l. a lock nut means onsaid pivot rod for securing the pivot rod in a selected adjustedposition between said attachment plate and said pair of ears.
 2. Thedust mop structure as defined in claim 1, wherein: (a) said carriermember includes an upper rigid portion in which said holes are formed, alower cushion portion which is secured to the lower surface of saidrigid portion, and a peripheral cushion formed around the periphery ofsaid rigid portion.